Star Trek Into Darkness (ENGLISH)

Star Trek Into Darkness (Michael Giacchino). We are glad that, only one year after the release of the first album together with the projection of the movie in cinemas, Varèse there has decided to re-edit the Michael Giacchino's score in expanded edition. On the other hand, probably Varèse is a label to which be grateful for the existence of many of the releases that had never been released without their support, and we are conscious of the effort that Varèse and Robert Townson do for spreading the film music. Though it is true that they also have faults. Since forever, Varèse has been characterized by the brown color (now maroon) of the side of the disc, in which the surname of the composer was appearing, but never the name. Probably they do it to give their distinctive label touch, or probably they do it thinking that the soundtrack collector could find useful the search of a concrete disc among all those of his/her collection reading the surnames of all the composers in alphabetical order. It is a detail that we have never liked it, since always there has seemed to be more grateful the side of the color of the art of the album, white, black, with photo or any other color. The monochrome one that Varèse has always used does not do but more difficult to locate a disc at a simple sight since they are all equal, and eliminates the differential characteristic that has every soundtrack.

Another characteristic that defines the albums edited by Varèse is the poverty that their booklets offer. Traditionally, they only have offered a booklet with front page, counter front page and, for the inside, one or several photos, often not even in color. The inside usually offers no information, and it is placed with the track listings in the back cover, in a very exiguous way. Besides that the scores are in the habit of having a succinct duration, between 30 and 50 minutes, with exceptions, but, in general, it is difficult to find a soundtrack under this label that reaches up to 75 minutes. And when they release an expanded edition as this one, they do it in a limited form (this time to 6000 copies), for what once sold out, the fan will not be able to acquire it with facility and at a reasonable price. And if we add that only one year has passed from the appearance of the movie and the original soundtrack, and that they realized this same step with accuracy to Star Trek's previous movie (the album was released in 2009 and the extended and limited edition in 2010), the first impression that the fan who bought the original album only one year ago could be think, speaking clearly, that this is joke. Why Varèse did not release this edition one year ago at the same time of the movie? Why wait one year if they had the experience of Star Trek's previous movie and knowing, therefore, that the complete edition of Star Trek Into Darkness would be profitable? Why force his "clients" to buy the same product for 2 times? Don't understand that we prefer waiting 20 years in order that another label releases the expanded version, it is that, seen the precedents, it does not seem to be serious. Probably in a last time we would have supported this situation with resignation (but not with enthusiasm); but in the 21st century, in the digital age, in the expansion of the digital music era, we must request to the labels, in general, an adjustment of their products to the requirements of their existing clients in all parts of the whole world. The passage of time is demanding with everything, everything is perfected, everything is improving. The edition of soundtracks also has to want to be perfected. Or does make sense, in any other area, that a client requests a service and this one was given him with the quality and properties of last century? In this case, the client would claim, and justly, an updated and modern service. We would like to think that it can be extrapolated.

On the other hand, the fact of being a limited edition, as others that already there released Varèse (The Matrix, Star Trek, etc.) makes impossible its future diffusion. When the issue was ended, the music will end. Why not to release the score in digital format? Probably Varèse has clear that this format does not go with his policy, but, from here, we think that the physical format is died for time, and to bet for the digital format is a business that comes easily to the whole world, even beyond 6000 copies. We are not who to give business councils to anybody, but if an opinion is good for anything, our opinion is that, nowadays, to do without the "eternal" digital format is to put obstacles to the musical diffusion more proper of last decades.

With regard to The Deluxe Edition that Varèse presents, it is called the attention the enormous quantity of extra music added with regard to the 2013 standard edition. Normally, this type of editions has an important part of its time dedicated to alternative or similar versions. But in case of Star Trek Into Darkness: The Deluxe Edition, any note indicates that there should be any version of this style, not even 2 tracks placed chronologically after the final credits. If indeed quite this content is "purely" score, it is necessary to have two reactions: on the one hand, an immense happiness for being able to have to the scope what looks like a complete edition, with all the music of the movie; and for other one, an indignation also raised for knowing how much music was not included in the 2013 "official" soundtrack. A movie is use to have music during a high part of its length, probably 90-95 % of average, we would dare to calculate. If we estimate the standard duration of a movie in 2 hours (120 minutes), The Deluxe Edition is serving 118, one length time more than sufficient. What might Varèse say in his defense when in 2013 released an album with 44 minutes of music? Does it, indeed, turn out to be so expensive and, for as a result, not profitably, to approach in the first version of the album to the 118 minutes that The Deluxe Edition now publishes? Or, at least, to 80 minutes, which it is what a physical CD supports.

As we say, we are very satisfied with the edition of this expanded album, but, on the other hand, both discs, originally and Deluxe, look like editions thought for enough time, with the exclusive intention of making pay two times for the same product. Or, if it is not considered to be the same product, then it probably should think that the original 2013 album is a defective product and that, once it has been repaired by the edition of 2014, Varèse would have to deliver a free copy to everyone who had acquired the original album. Would it not be just? Nonetheless, we will grant the benefit of the doubt to Varèse on having thought that the publication of the Deluxe Edition only was possible after one year of analysis of the results of sales of the standard edition released in 2013, and that its publication, in the first instance, had supposed a too much raised risk for the label (sometimes even difficult to believe being a label that works precisely as soundtrack editor). Probably Varèse Sarabande could extract conclusions of these opinions, but it is true that, analyzing his way of working from last times, is probably the only one label capable of taking pleasure and angering the fans of the film music at the same time.